The five Fortney sisters were all sexually abused by the same priest in the Harrisburg diocese in the 1980s.

And sometimes, they were abused in front of each other.

Earlier in September, four of the Fortney sisters were interviewed by CBS News, recounting the pain and details of their abuse.

Carolyn Fortney was younger than 2 years old when she was first sexually abused by the Rev. Augustine Giella, who served at St. John the Evangelist church in Swatara Township, Dauphin County. Patty said she was 13 when the abuse started. Lara was 10. Teresa was in first grade.

The bill, which has moved to state Senate for final consideration would allow past victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue their abusers. State Rep. Mark Rozzi, himself a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, has an amendment to the bill that would create a two-year "window to justice," during which those survivors for whom the civil window has already closed could file a retroactive civil claim.

The Fortney sisters believe that the retroactive measure would bring justice and healing to victims.

"I know for me that window is the most important thing," Lara Fortney-McKeever told PennLive. "It's not a gray area. It's a black or white area. Politicians are hiding behind arguments that it denies justice and they are just arguments. They shouldn't be deciding constitutionality. ... That's the job for the Supreme Court. That window will expose the pedophile at the top of the organization or anyone working at any church."

During their interview with CBS, the sisters recounted how Giella acted with them.

Carolyn says she was under two when sexual abuse at the hands of her trusted pastor began. Patty was 13. Lara was 10. Teresa was in the first grade.

"He was constantly hugging me in front of them, kissing me in front of them, trying to put his tongue in your mouth. He needed to know my cup size. I would continually remind myself, 'He's my priest. He's the mediator between God and man. This is okay,'" Patty Fortney-Julius said during the CBS News interview.

"I mean, even at our kitchen table things happened in front of my parents' face that they couldn't see," Lara Fortney McKeever said during the CBS News interview.

Giella groomed them for abuse. He was a "trusted family friend" who regularly had meals with the family.

Their parents, Ed and Patty Fortney, reported the abuse to the diocese in 1992 after another child in the family found a box that contained nude photos of Carolyn, according to the sweeping grand jury report. Another sister called child services and the abuse was reported to the police.

Giella was arrested on charges of sexual assault and child pornography, but he died before the trial, according to the grand jury report.

The family settled two civil lawsuits with the diocese, but the four sisters said they never received a direct apology.

The Rev. Richard Zula leaves court after a preliminary hearing before District Justice Frances Cornish of Confluence, Pa., on Dec. 21, 1988. In 1990, Zula received concurrent prison sentences for convictions in Washington and Somerset counties for sexually assaulting two boys. He died in 2017. Bill Levis/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP

This January 1988 photo shows the Rev. Francis Pucci, a Roman Catholic Priest who was accused of sexual assault, but criminal charges were later dropped because the statute of limitations had passed. Pucci was forced by Bishop Donald Wuerl into early retirement and banned from parish ministry, allowed only to say Mass for nuns at the convent where he resided until his death in 2002. Bill Levis/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP

The Rev. Robert Wolk, a Roman Catholic priest, is led from the courtroom by deputies after receiving a 5- to 10-year sentence from Judge George Ross for child molestation on April 3, 1990. Wolk voluntarily left the priesthood. Bill Levis/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP